Fun Facts About the Name Nairobi
- More than 1 thousand babies named Nairobi: U.S. records list 1,596 babies given the name Nairobi from 1880 through 2025. Even 35 boys received the name Nairobi - about 1 boy for every 45 girls.
What Does the Name Nairobi Mean?
Nairobi is a given name taken from the city of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. The city's name comes from the Maasai language (Maa), from the phrase Enkare Nairobi, commonly translated as "cool water" or "place of cool waters." In Maa, enkare is the word for water, and nairobi carries the sense of cool or cold, so the phrase describes the cold water of the river that runs through the area. The name's literal sense, then, is a reference to a river, and its use as a personal name is a borrowing of that place name rather than a name with an independent etymology of its own. Translations of the phrase vary slightly in wording ("cool water," "cold water," "place of cool waters"), but they reflect the same Maasai source.
Nairobi Name History & Origins
The name Nairobi began as a place name among the Maasai, who used Enkare Nairobi for the river and the watering place beside it in the area that is now the city's center. In 1899, the Uganda Railway, built by the British colonial administration, established a depot at that site, and the settlement that grew around the railhead took the name Nairobi. The town became the capital of the British East Africa Protectorate and later of independent Kenya, and its prominence spread the name well beyond the Maasai-speaking region.
The use of Nairobi as a personal given name is more recent than its use as a place name. It follows the broader pattern of place names being adopted as given names, and it appears as a given name chiefly in Kenya and among Kenyan and other African diaspora communities, with occasional use in the United States and elsewhere. Because the personal name is a direct adoption of the city name, its history as a given name does not have separate earlier forms of its own; the documented development belongs to the Maasai phrase and to the city.
How Popular is the Name Nairobi?
Nairobi has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2021. Its best rank was #1,043 in 2021.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,870 | 106 | 0.0066% |
| 2024 | #1,535 | 139 | 0.0086% |
| 2023 | #1,319 | 172 | 0.0107% |
| 2022 | #1,080 | 233 | 0.0142% |
| 2021 | #1,043 | 242 | 0.0148% |
| 2020 | #1,124 | 215 | 0.0133% |
| 2019 | #2,671 | 65 | 0.0039% |
| 2018 | #3,983 | 37 | 0.0022% |
| 2017 | #5,476 | 24 | 0.0014% |
| 2016 | #6,125 | 21 | 0.0012% |
| 2015 | #8,307 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2014 | #7,219 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2013 | #10,048 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2012 | #7,696 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2011 | #13,021 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2010 | #11,970 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2009 | #6,991 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 2008 | #12,313 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2007 | #7,013 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 2006 | #9,726 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2005 | #6,740 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 2004 | #9,100 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2003 | #11,044 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2002 | #10,824 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2001 | #9,882 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2000 | #9,671 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1999 | #8,066 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1998 | #4,896 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 1997 | #13,224 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1996 | #7,949 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1994 | #7,978 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1993 | #10,252 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1992 | #14,789 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1986 | #12,173 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1985 | #8,965 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1984 | #5,431 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 1983 | #11,407 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | #13,541 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2002 | #11,904 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1999 | #6,926 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1978 | #6,469 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1976 | #5,401 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1971 | #5,423 | 5 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Nairobi Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You have a vivid imagination who can bring inspired messages to the world. You like to enjoy the pleasures of life, and when self is overcome, you can rise to the heights. You have an ability to avoid trouble - that is why you often fails to learn from experiences. You are restless, sociable people-oriented, a lover of change, and a seeker of adventure and new thrills. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You are seeking freedom, opportunities to enjoy life: to make love, to go places and to do things. You are very adventurous and willing to take risk to achieve your objectives. New ways and new experiences can't satisfy your restless nature. One adventure leads you to another. You are honest and fair, because you know that this is the only way to receive justice and honesty from other people. But your personal growth is vital for you, and it is difficult to be tied down by rules and obligations. Your restless spirit might best controlled by choosing the field of work that meet your demand for action and adventure.
✦ Nairobi's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Nairobi's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.